Walls

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“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” – Albert Camus

View from a Rhino House: have safe, be fun

It was reported on Sunday that a man in Ohio found over 120 kilos of marijuana hidden inside a Mexican-made gun-safe that he bought over the internet.

The man had ordered the large, steel gun-safe from the Champion Safe Co. It was made in Nogales, Mexico, & trucked from Mexico to Champion’s warehouse local County Sheriff John Lenhart said.

The safe was delivered in June to the customer by an independent driver contracted by Champion, Lenhart added.

The marijuana, tightly wrapped in 10 packages, has a street value of $420,000, according to the sheriff. He said the truck’s shipment contained 30 safes, but that all the others were without the extras.

The US driver who delivered the safe to the customer has been cleared of any involvement, but the driver who delivered the shipment from Mexico to Ohio has gone missing, according to Lenhart. (If they haven’t paid him a visit yet, I bet his “friends” are making strenuous efforts to find him, too.)

He said the DEA normally would not be interested in what is considered to be a relatively small amount of marijuana. But the DEA is interested in learning more about the delivery method & size of such an operation.

“It’s a pretty decent way of smuggling,” Lenhart said. “My guess is that it’s not the first time it’s happened.”

A conflation of the war-against-drugs & guns, who could have seen that one coming?

View from a Rhino House: paws in politics

In the Mexican city of Xalapa a “collective” of citizens, disenchanted with politicians they refer to as “the rats,” have put forward a different type candidate for mayor: a cat named Morris.

Local resident Sergio Chamorro, who adopted the cat last Summer, told reporters that the plan began as a joke between friends, borne out of their frustration with the Veracruz state government.

“Fed up of voting for rats? Vote for a cat,” read the first campaign poster featuring the black & white cat (using the Spanish “ratas” for rats & “gato” for Morris gives it a nice “sing-song” sound when chanted by enough voices).

Chamorro created a Facebook page in support of Morris’ candidacy in May & the page went viral (as is the way of these things) in early June & now has received more than 125,000 “likes.”

As the news of the mock-campaign spread, disillusioned citizens across Mexico nominated a donkey & a chicken for other political offices in the election to be held on 7th July.

Morris has competition from seven official candidates for Xalapa mayor, including representatives of Mexico’s three major parties. Despite his large following, Morris is not an officially registered candidate & Chamorro is asking voters to write in “Morris” or draw a picture of a cat on their ballot.

The idea of a political candidate who has already been neutered will surely appeal beyond the borders of Mexico, both north & south!